Moments of Weakness
by Sebe
Summary: They found her in the woods. Season 3 spoiler.


Author's Notes: 3x01 AU for how I think the pack could find out about Erica. Some snippets of conversation and placement drawn from earlier trailers and promos of the new season.

Summary: They found her in the woods. Season 3 spoiler.

**Moments of Weakness**

They found her in the woods. The pack had been searching for months. Stiles, and even Scott, had joined in when it was clear that wherever Boyd and Erica had tried to escape to, they hadn't made it.

They found her in the woods because they wanted them to.

Stiles, Scott, and Derek had been out this time. Checking old ground, trying to find new trails. There was more and more banter between them all as things went on. Only small bouts of serious posturing and malice remained; mostly between Scott and Derek. It had become routine, which was why it was so jarring when Derek suddenly took off. A few short moments later, Scott bolted after him, eyes gone wide. Stiles ran as hard as he could after them, struggling not to lose them in the trees.

They all knew this was a possibility. Stiles thought he had prepared himself for it, crime scene photos and a horribly vivid imagination; but really, there was just no way to brace yourself for this.

Stiles skidded into the clearing, breathing hard, just as Scott was pulling his hand back with a devastated look on his face. It was clear she was gone, throat slashed and half-lidded eyes glassy. She was laid out perfectly, like an offering, blonde hair a halo around her head.

Scott was on his knees next to her while Derek stood just in front of Stiles, distanced from the central scene and not moving, just staring. Stiles saw the alpha's jaw clenching again and again, but he didn't say a word.

Scott looked up at Derek first. Apparently finding no help there, he turned his eyes to Stiles. He looked a second away from breaking down in tears. Scott's obvious distress triggered that _'be strong' 'protect'_ urge in Stiles. He shut down. He had to be in control of this, be practical. He could deal with emotions later. For now, he made himself not feel a thing.

'_You make a good Batman'_

It wasn't easy, but he did it. Closed his eyes, took a breath, and stepped forward; one foot in front of the other. He was slow and cautious as he bypassed Derek, not sure how the alpha was going to react. Or when. But nothing changed and Stiles stepped over to Scott, dropping to one knee beside him. Something soaked into his jeans that he knew was blood, but for now, he decided he didn't feel that either. He was just numb.

"Stiles…"

Scott's voice cracks, high and tight. Scott hadn't known her that well, had even fought her a few times, but he was still crying over her. Because that's what Scott did, who he was. He always tried to do the good, right, thing. Even if he didn't always succeed, he tried. He believed the best of people.

It was probably why Stiles had always felt like he had to shield him. That light was hard to come by and Stiles didn't want to see it dimmed. Stiles had no delusion about being the virtuous hero, but he could help keep the hero going. Stiles was already well acquainted with the dark, so why not run interception?

He put his hands on Scott's shoulders, drawing his attention away from her on onto him.

"Scott. Hey. Hey man, I need you to listen to me." '_Give him something to do. Keep him occupied'_. He pulled out his cell phone, showing it to Scott like a parent would dangle keys in front of a child. "None of our phones have bars out here. I need you to take this and find enough reception to call my dad. Tell him we were out walking and…just tell him to come, okay? Tell him what happened. You hear me?"

Scott's eyes were still wet, but they weren't as downright terrified as before and that was the point. He nodded slowly to Stiles.

"Yeah…yeah, okay."

Stiles gave him a pinched smile and patted his shoulder.

"Thatta boy. Come on." He hauled Scott to his feet and sent him off with a gentle push. He seemed to need it to get moving. Scott gave one last lingering look and went to do as told, both his and Stiles' phones clenched tightly in his hands.

Stiles waited until he was out of sight to turn back around. With a deep breath, he kneeled next to her again. _'Later, later. I'll feel it later'_. He reached up and gently closed her eyes. He allowed himself to linger just a moment before standing again and looking toward Derek.

The wolf was turned away, back to them and Stiles prepared himself for whatever was going to happen next. He was betting Derek would lash out. Really his safest bet to avoid bodily harm was to stay just where he was, but did Stiles ever do the sane, safe thing? Nope. 'Course not.

"Derek?" He gave a wide berth around her and got closer to the wolf one cautious step at a time, ready to run if he had to. "Hey."

And then Derek collapsed to his knees and Stiles stopped moving, thrown off balance. Derek stared straight ahead and it was several accelerated heartbeats later that anything happened.

"Everyone around me gets hurt."

Well, shit.

Stiles sighed and moved to stand behind Derek; still a bit of distance borne from personal space and common sense, but closer. He wasn't good with this stuff, not even with Scott. He never knew the right thing to say, but he always ended up clumsily stumbling through it anyway.

"You didn't do this, man." Derek doesn't move. "This isn't on you."

"Of course it is!" He whips his head to the side and Stiles catches a glimpse of red. He doesn't know why he's not afraid. It's far off and vague when he realizes he hasn't been afraid of Derek for a long time. "I turned them! I was supposed to protect them!"

Stiles was an expert at playing Devil's advocate.

"They chose to leave. You didn't even know where they were. You wouldn't have known they were taken at all if I hadn't told you they got snagged before by Allison's nutso grandpa."

"…Pack is always pack." Now his voice just sounds broken. Stiles doesn't have any more words. Or at least not the right ones, especially if he's set on this 'feel later' thing. So he sits down next to Derek instead and says nothing.

Some tension leaves Derek's shoulders after a minute and he seems to focus on just existing for awhile.

"…Boyd's probably dead too." Derek says in a monotone.

"Maybe not." Optimism isn't exactly a strength of Stiles', that's something he leaves to Scott for the most part. But he tries.

"We'll get them. The alphas." Stiles' voice is confident now because this is something he knows. A quality he and Derek share; this bloodlust, this need for revenge when their own are threatened. "And when we find them, we won't be calling my dad."

Derek turns to look at him then, even though Stiles isn't looking back. Slowly, his back straightens, he breathes deep and his hands stop clenching quite so hard.

"…Okay." It wasn't. It really wasn't. Because they were all children, Derek included, and they were going to war; already down by one. There were enemies everywhere, hiding in the shadows, waiting, and no reinforcements were coming. This was going to be bloody. This was going to hurt. But just now, right now, they had a plan to grasp onto.

Beside each other, silent and still, they were okay.


End file.
